As journalists, the words of the Constitution are something that we live by; however, when those actions affect innocent bystander’s lives, that’s where we draw the line.

According to the American Lung Association, secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in children and adults who do not smoke. Secondhand smoke is responsible for 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 22,700-69,600 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year.

Many business, restaurants and bars have turned into non-smoking facilities. The health-friendly atmosphere has been supported by large amounts of people so much so that this ban is moving outside as well. They call this smoke-free zoning. This zoning doesn’t allow smoking to be within a certain distance of the foundation. While some states have restrictions in places, other states have chosen to go even more extreme and declare they are a smoke-free state. There is no smoking in or around bars, restaurants and businesses.

Will this ban go as far as college campuses and college towns? Though Simpson College does a great job to keep the campus clean, would our image be better if we too had a smoke free zone? We believe that yes, it would.

Having a smoke-free campus would send a positive message to prospective students and their caregivers that Simpson really is a community that cares.

Our view on this controversial topic is that in the end it will benefit the greatest number of people. Increasing the prices of cigarettes hasn’t been enough to encourage people to stop smoking, but perhaps this inconvenience with smoking bans will help save lives.